New owner of Bertram Yacht’s former Miami HQ hit with foreclosure suit

Industrial site west of Miami International Airport
The nearly 21-acre marine facility on the Miami River

Five months after paying $35.5 million to purchase the former Bertram Yacht headquarters on the Miami River, the property’s new ownership has reportedly been hit with a $16 million foreclosure suit from its lender.

Birch Commercial Mortgage filed the suit this week against Interterra Investments Group, headed by Argentinian architect Jorge Bernstein, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

Interterra had financed its purchase of the nearly 21-acre marine property in August with a $16 million loan from Birch. The lender is actually an affiliate of Alecta Real Estate Investment, which sold the property in that deal.

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Interterra is close to obtaining more financing and has already received commitments from two new lenders, according to the South Florida Business Journal. The owner hopes to resolve this suit within the next month.

Bernstein, who has a home on Fisher Island, plans to redevelop the property into a mixed-use project — though details on what he plans to build are in flux.

The property was once the home of boatbuilding firm Bertram Yacht, which first constructed the Miami River facility in the 1960’s. The company moved to a facility on Merritt Island in 2014. [South Florida Business Journal] — Sean Stewart-Muniz